Weekend Wanderings!

I hope everyone had a good weekend, though it was over shadowed by the sad news on Sunday. My heart breaks for the families in Texas.

With so much sadness in the world lately, I do enjoy hiding my rocks and hoping it will bring a smile to the people who find them and a little happiness in other's lives. One thing that really made me feel good is that not only do we help others who find them, but also those who hide them.

Usually we take Nick on one day and he loves finding rocks and I have to tell him that he can only keep one and rehide the rest, which is hard for a four year old. This weekend we found a rock and he checked it out and then put it back in another place on the bridge. Then when we came home, I remembered I had found a heart shaped rock that had gold in it, and he loved it. Then he came over to me and said, I want you to have it, he is finding joy in giving to others now and that warms my heart.

Another story with rocks is that a neighbor loves to find rocks when she goes out and last week, she found one with an angel. She really didn't want the rock, but something made her take it and then she remembered me and bought it over. This rock is perfect for my room and she will sit there for awhile and someday, I plan on giving it to someone who needs it more than I. It says, "Your wings were ready, but my heart was not". Something simple as leaving painted rocks can touch so many others. If you are interested in joining in, you can go to my Facebook group, DSmiles4Miles. It is not just for rocks, but any type of gifts that you can leave in areas you visit, or gifts that you can give to others, to bring a smile to their day.

This is the rock she found, and this is my memorial table for my daughter. The angel is the one we had at her grave, until the stone came and the rocks are hearts and special items I find on the beach.

We took Nick out Saturday and I really wanted to go further up north but I needed to keep it to a few places with Nick along. We drove straight to the falls, no sight seeing or stops, so we could have more time enjoying the area. The falls were running full force, I tell Nick to smile and I get the grimace, that and I think he was a bit nervous being so close to the falls, lol.

From there we walked along the path and through the covered bridge.

Then along the river path and through the woods, a great place for a little boy to play and explore.

From there we went across to East Haddam, I wanted to see the oldest Bell and the Nathan Hale Schoolhouse. The school house was placed on the hill, over looking the Connecticut river, so it is more of a park like setting and another place, Nick could run around.

He went and set in the car with Bill while I took photos of the church and graveyard. It was hard to get a clear shot of the bell, but it was originally made for a Spanish Monestary in 815AD. A sea captain found the bell and used it as ballast for his ship and eventually it made it's way to East Haddam.

Then it was off to the castle. At this point, Nick was getting tired, so we took a quick tour around the castle and then a short hike into the woods. I really wanted him to go in the tunnel, which is part of the old mini railroad trail. The original owner of the castle, built a track around his property and had a small engine and cars to take his guests for rides.

Nick was nervous and couldn't wait to get out, then he said, lets go again.

We had a nice walk around the path, back to the car and by the time we got back, his energy dwindled. I decided he needed something to eat and we got him a meal in the next town, but by the time the food came out, he was fast asleep. So he got a good nap on the way home and was full of energy again when his parents came over and we had dinner together.

Sunday was another cloudy day but the rain held off and we were able to take a drive to the ocean. I was dragging, so a relaxing few hours on the beach was just what I needed. I found a few heart rocks and sea glass to add to my collection. Today I crashed, mostly resting and hoping I get my energy back tomorrow for all the ideas that are running through my head;)

A Hidden Gem in Connecticut!

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. We had a beautiful day yesterday, though a bit warm for hiking. The plan was to visit two places and just walk around, but we ended up hiking up to a lookout, so I got a good workout.

We headed to East Haddam Ct., to visit Devil's Hopyard park. I was not disappointed, the area is beautiful. Plenty of parking, and wonderful trails that follow the river and more to explore.

Of course the first place I had to walk to was the falls. The recent rains had it cascading down the rocks with a roar and a fine mist cooling us off.

We headed to the top of the falls and crossed the bridge and headed along the trails that followed the river.

The path led to a covered bridge, a nice place to stop and relax.

I hadn't planned on a hike or climb, but the next sign post said, overlook and I just had to see what it was, lol. It was all climbing up hill so I took it easy and was treated to this spectacular view of the valley below.

I decided to take the river route, on the way back, nice and flat but a lot of areas were hard to climb over and more slippery, but it was easier and shorter, as well as having beautiful views of the river.

Our next stop was Gillette Castle on the Connecticut river. The Castle was built by William Gillette and  an amazing place to visit if you are in the area. It has free parking and access to the grounds and a fee if you want to go in the castle. It was not open, so we weren't able to get in.

Since it was late, we just walked around the castle. It is a place I would like to go back to and walk around the grounds which have miles of paths. Gillette was also a cat lover and I was hoping to find some of the stone cat sculptures but they are in areas we did not go to.

A view of the castle as we head up.

A view of the castle front, which faces the river. Gillette's bedroom is in the uppermost, left side of the castle.

A view of the Connecticut river from the picnic area in front of the castle. You can see the ferry crossing the river, one way to get to the other side. There was also a riverboat coming up the river which is a fun way to see the area.

And here is a closer look of the castle walls, can you imagine having to build this. There are a lot of unique features inside the house as well, the sun room has a pond in it, which we could see from the window. I would love to come back and go inside, take a ferry ride and go further up river to see the swing bridge and the old mill towns along the river.